


Program of Today

by TwoMenAndAGuava (drakkynfyre47)



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 08:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7676593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drakkynfyre47/pseuds/TwoMenAndAGuava
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a mission, Uhura must talk her way out of a treason charge against her and her team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Program of Today

**Author's Note:**

  * For [antonomasia09](https://archiveofourown.org/users/antonomasia09/gifts).



> title from Depeche Mode's "Photographic"

It’s not the first time Uhura’s led a landing party. In fact, she’s got the best track record on the ship for not getting her people captured, injured, or otherwise inconvenienced. Her linguistic training and quick thinking give her a significant advantage. She’s talked her way out of more desperate situations than Sulu’s landing parties have been in, both on the ship and off. So she’s not too worried when the Byans arrest them - it’s not like she’s inexperienced and quaking in her boots. Confused, yes -- they’ve been down here for twelve hours now, and none of them have done anything obviously rude by Starfleet standards -- but worried, no.

Lieutenant Leslie doesn’t share her optimism. “Sir?” he asks uncertainly.

“Do it, Lieutenant,” she orders, allowing her hands to be cuffed behind her back. “May I ask why we are being arrested?” she asks their captors.

“Treason,” says the smallest of the Byans. She has a different insignia than the others - an officer, maybe, and that’s good, because if they’re important enough to send an officer instead of just enlisted goons, Uhura has a good chance of getting in to talk to someone in authority, explaining the mixup, and getting her team out of this in one piece. She bites her tongue -- it's not every day you get arrested by people who come up to your waist at the max. 

“How can we commit treason? We’re not even from this planet,” Ensign Martinez complains quietly. 

“Not like we were spying,” Ensign Patil adds nervously.

Leslie shoots them a warning glance. “Not the time, folks. Let the Lieutenant do her bit and you can piss and moan about it later.”

Uhura bites her lip to hide a grin. Leslie’s been on her team since her first away mission, and his confidence in her will help the two young ensigns stay calm and cooperative. She pauses, shifts mental gears, and speaks in Byan. “I don’t understand how we could have committed treason. I need to speak to the governor.”

The officer stops short. “How do you speak our language?”

“That’s my job,” Uhura explains, still in Byan. “I study languages and communication. Even without the translator, I picked up your language before we came down to the planet.”

She wonders, even as she says it, if she’s implying that their language is simplistic. It’s not one of the harder languages she’s had to deal with, that’s for sure, but it’s really not simple either. 

“You should not know our language without us knowing yours,” the officer says disapprovingly. 

“Would you prefer me to speak Federation Standard?” she replies in that language, calmly and politely, displaying none of her inner thoughts.

“Yes. It is most improper to speak our language for those of you who are not those of us.”

What a horrible translation. She'll have to fix that when they're done here. 

Leslie blinks at Uhura. She raises her eyebrows expressively - no Les I don’t know what the translator’s doing, yes I understand what she’s trying to say - and turns back to the Byans. “I beg forgiveness. I was unaware that I was being rude.”

The Byan stares at her, apparently gauging her sincerity. Having found Uhura satisfactory, she says, “It is forgiven. Please, come with us.”

Uhura gives Leslie the nod so that he’ll shepherd Patil and Martinez along, then lifts her chin, squares her shoulders, and gets ready for a battle of words to the death - quite possibly literally, considering the charge. She follows another Byan enlisted man (woman? It’s a little hard to tell if they even have men and women.) to the huge entrance hall that dwarfs even Martinez’ gangling height. Why they have such a big building for such small people is beyond her. The Byan monarch is sprawled out along the length of the royal magic carpet - a hovercraft-borne fabric. 

“All rise in the presence of the King of the Byans!” booms the sentinel. Uhura winces a little at the volume, but hides it well. Everyone stands a little straighter, even the soldiers who were already at attention. 

The king doesn’t bother to look at the Starfleet officers, still cuffed and holding position, as she says, “Throw them in the dungeon.”

“Your Majesty,” Uhura says, throwing caution to the winds. “We have the right to know the charge.”

The king rolls to face them. “You have been plotting to overthrow the government here so that we may more easily be joining your Federation by force. We will not allow that to happen, and therefore you must be punished.”

“No,” she says. “That’s not what we’re doing. We are here as a courtesy, to present the case that joining the Federation would be a good thing for both of us. We have no desire to replace your government, nor to conquer your planet by force. My own home planet doesn’t have war any more. We’re not about to start a new conflict.”

The king sits up, and Uhura breathes a sigh of relief. They’ve got a real chance here. “Prove it," she says.

“Allow me to call my ship. We can speak to some of the other nonhuman crew members, let you hear them tell how their planets joined the Federation. You’ll see that we’ve never purposely engendered conflict, nor overthrown any governments.”

For a long moment, Uhura can see the debate behind the king’s eyes. Throw them in the dungeon, or hear them out? She hopes to whatever deities might be listening that the king chooses the second option. Finally, the king says, “Call.”

“I need my communicator,” Uhura says, “and it would help if my hands were unbound.”

“Don’t push it,” Leslie mutters out of the corner of his mouth. 

The king nods to the officer, and Uhura finds her hands freed and her communicator pressed securely into her palm. She flips it open, and with a voice that definitely doesn’t shake at all, not even a little, she says, “Uhura to Enterprise.”

“Kirk here,” comes her captain’s familiar voice. 

“Captain,” she says with palpable relief. “Can you send down Lieutenants Arex and M’Ress, please? The Byans are having a little trouble believing that nonhumans and nonhumanoids are welcome in the Federation.”

“Of course, Lieutenant. They’re on their way. Should we bring you up?”

Uhura looks at the king. “Are we free to go, Your Highness?”

“We will keep you as hostage. The other three may return to your Enterprise.” The king sneers as she says the name of the ship. 

Uhura grits her teeth silently. “Thank you, Your Majesty. Your wisdom is truly great.”

“Watch it,” Leslie says in Uhura's general direction, but he’s hiding a smile.

-

Several hours later, with the treaty secure and all crewmembers safely aboard the ship, Captain Kirk meets her in the transporter room. “Sounds like you had quite the exciting day,” he says.

“All in a day’s work, sir,” she replies with a smile.


End file.
